


A Change In The Familiar

by afteriwake



Series: All Of Time And Space [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2018-01-08 01:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1126584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock doesn't want to be bothered today, preferring to read his book. But Mycroft has news that Sherlock needs to hear, and he has a favor to ask of his baby brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Change In The Familiar

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for an anthology, but I never heard anything about whether it was published or not so I figured I would share it here. Set when Sherlock and Mycroft are much younger.

It was raining. Sherlock abhorred the rain, because it meant his mother would not let him go outside and explore. It also meant that Mycroft was trapped inside as well, and the two of them contained in the same house for any real amount of time had disaster written all over it. He would try and do experiments in peace, and Mycroft would poke at him and what he was doing until it got nasty and he would react. He normally wore a calm demeanor, unless he was dealing with someone stupid and then it was just snide remarks and nasty tone. He didn’t tolerate stupidity. Mycroft was smart but he was also quite daft in a few ways, because he thought he knew everything. Sherlock knew better. He didn’t assume he knew everything but he _certainly_ knew more than his insufferable older brother. Or at least, he hoped that was the case.

But today he had no experiments to run. He was not allowed to touch any of the electronics after he microwaved the eggs while they were still in the shell and made a mess of the microwave. His father had put his foot down on him using open flame, and that ruled out a few things he wanted to try and do. So, in the end, he settled down with a book about science experiments run during World War II, going back to his favorite section about the aborted Ironsides project.

It was sitting on the window seat, ignoring the heavy fall of rain outside, that Mycroft found him an hour later. Sherlock tensed slightly as his brother approached, but Mycroft said nothing to him, standing a foot or so away, staring out the window. At first Sherlock thought he could ignore him but he found he didn’t much like him staring in his direction without speaking. “Do you want something?” he asked as nonchalantly as possible, not glancing up from his book.

“No,” Mycroft said.

“You always want something,” he said after a moment. “You’re always interested in things you have no business meddling in.”

“Right now I just want peace and quiet,” he replied.

Now Sherlock looked up. He examined his brother closely. He was slouching, his clothes were not their normal immaculate self, and it appeared as though he had been out in the rain, judging from the wet patch on his left shoulder and the mud on the bottom of his shoes. He was frowning as well, and while a frown was a normal expression his eyes seemed sad as well. Something had happened. “Did something happen?” he asked, shutting his book.

“Father left,” he said. “For good this time, I fear. He had a suitcase with him.”

So. His mother had finally made it known how much she despised her husband. It was a shame, because of everyone in the family his father was the only one who understood Sherlock’s need to find answers. His father was an ally in his life, and now that he was gone he would be at the mercy of his brother and mother. “Did you try and stop him?”

Mycroft nodded. “I did.”

This surprised Sherlock, but he was careful not to let it show. He thought Mycroft would enjoy being the man of the household; he acted as though it was his title already, and in fact had been making more decisions while their father had been busy with his theories and deductions. And he had been helping, as much as his father would allow. He would miss that, because his mother and Mycroft simply did not understand the need that drove him. He would be alone now in his pursuits. But he was curious now, and wanted to study his brother’s motivations. “I thought for sure you would be glad he was gone,” he replied.

“I don’t want the responsibility of running this home, and you know Mother will be leaving it to me,” he said with a sigh, and now Sherlock could see signs he was worn down, tired. “She’s interested in Society, nothing more.” Then he looked at Sherlock. “You’ll need to help. No more pointless experiments.”

“They are not pointless. The quest for answers is always a good thing,” Sherlock said. “It’s a noble pursuit.”

“I cannot do this alone,” Mycroft said. “I am asking for your help, Sherlock. I thought you would prefer to be asked rather than forced.”

He looked at his brother. Mycroft was staring straight at him, and the look in his eyes was almost pleading. He sighed and stowed his book on the cushion he was sitting on. “Fine. I’ll help. But in my own free time I would like to continue my experiments. After my obligations are met.”

Mycroft thought for a moment, and then nodded slowly. “Very well. Just make sure you meet your obligations first.” He turned and left, leaving Sherlock alone to face a new reality in his life.

He didn’t like emotions. They were messy and they interfered with the thought process. He knew what his mother thought of him, that he was a high-functioning sociopath. But he did have feelings, and right now they rose to the surface. There was a feeling of loss, but also anger and resentment towards both his mother and father, and worry that everything would fall apart. He would have to trust Mycroft to keep it all together. Trust Mycroft…that would be a new experience.

He turned and looked out the window, staring at the yard below and the out to the street. He would show no weakness, no emotion. He would keep his thoughts to himself; keep up the wall he’d built. He’d give up on the ideas he had had of how his life would be and learn to accept the new reality. But he knew, if there ever came a day that he was free, he would leave and never look back. He would make his own way and leave behind those who didn’t care about him. And he would be his own man, and care only about himself. If he cared about others it only hurt him in the end. In the end, it was better to be alone and safe than open and vulnerable. He would take this lesson to heart for the rest of his days.


End file.
